Criteria must remain constant

New embassies of Belarus abroad must only open where they are serving economic interests, emphasises Head of State, speaking to Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei
Veniamin Minin

President Lukashenko has reminded the Foreign Minister that foreign policy should not change, with economic interests to the fore. He stresses, “Recently, it has been suggested that we launch a number of embassies abroad. I’m not against this but they should open exclusively with this aim. We don’t need to engage in general global policy. Rather, only if we have economic interest in a particular country, in terms of diversification of exports and foreign trade, we should engage there.”

The Head of State asked Mr. Makei to report in brief on foreign policy results, with reference to the major meeting planned with Belarus’ ambassadors abroad this summer. “There will come a time when we’ll seriously talk about the results of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ works: for last year, and in general,” said the President.

Mr. Makei reported that the Foreign Ministry Collegium recently summed up results and set tasks for 2014. He admitted that half of the five-dozen Belarusian embassies abroad have failed to meet targets concerning the development of exports and attraction of investments. “Assessment of the central office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our foreign establishments is absolutely critical,” he noted. “A corresponding order for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will soon be prepared, acting upon our conclusions.”
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